American Government

The new edition of the briefest and most affordable American Government text on the market updates data through the 2018 Midterm elections, looks ahead to 2020, and puts events of the Trump Administration in context with principles of Constitutional democracy.

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American Government: Constitutional Democracy Under Pressure highlights the necessary tension between our constitutional principles and institutions and the populist heat that sometimes roils our national politics, especially at the current political moment. Our constitutional democracy has been under pressure for some time, but few would deny that fears for its fate have deepened in just the past few years. We assume that our political institutions will limit and contain contemporary populism, just as the Founders intended and as they have in the past, but will they? An increasingly polarized electorate, urging their representatives to fight and never to compromise, may be stressing Constitutional limits. This new edition offers to help American government teachers lead their students to a nuanced theoretical and practical understanding of what is happening in the politics of their Constitutional democracy today.

New to the Second Edition






Further develops and highlights the distinguishing theme of the book, "Constitutional Democracy Under Pressure," in light of Trump Administration events over the last two years.






Expands coverage of all media aspects including fake news, social media, responsible journalism, and related topics including foreign manipulation of the news.






Includes the most recent election results.






Addresses issues specific to the Trump Administration including unique coverage of the 25th Amendment, cabinet instability, election interferences, executive power and unitary action, and impact on the courts.






Updates in all tables, figures, suggested readings plus photo updates throughout.